Annual salaries of elected county officers; cost-of-living increase; option not to receive part of salary; salary increases not paid under certain circumstances.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 245.043
in effect1. As used in this section:
(a) County includes Carson City.
(b) County commissioner includes the Mayor and supervisors of Carson City.
(c) Elected officer means a district attorney, sheriff, county clerk, county assessor, county recorder, county treasurer and public administrator.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this section, each elected officer of a county of this State is entitled to receive for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, an annual salary in the base amount as determined pursuant to subsection 3 or an amount that is calculated to be 3 percent more than the salary of the employee under the supervision of the elected officer who has the highest salary of all employees under the supervision of the elected officer, as determined by the salaries of all employees under the supervision of the elected officer on January 1, 2025, whichever is higher. For each fiscal year thereafter, the annual salary of an elected officer is the base salary for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 as adjusted pursuant to subsection 4 or an amount that is calculated to be 3 percent more than the salary of the employee under the supervision of the elected officer who has the highest salary of all employees under the supervision of the elected officer, as determined by the salaries of all employees under the supervision of the elected officer on July 1 of that fiscal year that have been approved by the board of county commissioners, whichever is higher. The annual salary is in full payment for all services required by law to be performed by such elected officer. Except as otherwise provided by law, all fees and commissions collected by elected officers in the performance of their duties must be paid into the county treasury each month without deduction of any nature. For the purposes of this subsection, approval of a salary by a board of county commissioners includes, without limitation, the approval of a salary or pay increase where the board of county commissioners:
(a) Was informed that the salary or pay increase would increase the salary of an elected officer;
(b) Approved a collective bargaining agreement; or
(c) Approved a range of salaries for the department or division that includes the position of the elected officer.
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the base salary for each elected officer for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, is the base salary that was in effect for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 pursuant to this section, as it existed on July 1, 2015, adjusted for each fiscal year starting with Fiscal Year 2019-2020 and ending with Fiscal Year 2024-2025 by compounding the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as published by the United States Department of Labor.
4. A board of county commissioners may elect to provide a cost-of-living increase of 2 percent to the base salary of each elected officer. Such an increase may be provided annually or at any time the board of county commissioners deems appropriate. Each time the board of county commissioners provides such an increase, the total increased salary becomes the base salary for that elected officer for purposes of this section. A board of county commissioners shall not use a cost-of-living increase as a one-time pay incentive or bonus to increase the base salary of an elected officer in such a manner that would prevent an increase to the base salary of a person elected to such office at a later date.
5. The base salary of an elected officer as determined pursuant to subsections 2, 3 and 4 does not:
(a) Include any increases to the salary of an elected officer for longevity under NRS 245.044 ;
(b) Decrease when a new person is elected to that office; and
(c) Decrease when a person who is elected and has a base salary which is more than 3 percent more than the salary of the employee under the supervision of the elected officer who has the highest salary of all employees under the supervision of the elected officer.
6. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the annual salary for county commissioners commencing on July 1 of Fiscal Year 2025-2026 is:
(a) For Clark County, $121,000;
(b) For Washoe County, $116,000;
(c) For Lyon County, Carson City, Elko County, Nye County, Douglas County, and Storey County, $39,000;
(d) For Churchill County and Humboldt County, $36,000;
(e) For White Pine County and Pershing County, $33,000; and
(f) For Lander County, Mineral County, Lincoln County, Eureka County and Esmeralda County, $30,000.
Ê The annual salaries set forth in this subsection for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 are effective for that fiscal year. For the following 5 fiscal years, each county commissioner is entitled to a 3 percent increase per fiscal year. For each fiscal year thereafter, each county commissioner is entitled to the salary that was in effect for that county commissioner during Fiscal Year 2030-2031.
7. Any elected officer or county commissioner who is entitled to a salary pursuant to this section may elect not to receive any part of the salary to which he or she is entitled pursuant to this section.
8. The increased annual salaries for each elected officer and county commissioner for a fiscal year must not be paid in a fiscal year if the board of county commissioners determines that sufficient financial resources are not available to pay increased annual salaries in that fiscal year. If increased annual salaries are paid in a subsequent fiscal year:
(a) Those increased annual salaries must be in the amounts provided for in this section.
(b) An elected officer or county commissioner is not entitled to any retroactive payment of the salary increase for any previous fiscal year in which increased annual salaries were not paid.
9. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, if a board of county commissioners determines not to pay increased salaries pursuant to subsection 8, the board of county commissioners may pay each elected officer and county commissioner a reduced salary. Any reduction in salary must be applied to all elected officers and county commissioners using a calculation that is equally proportional or using the same reduction calculation applied to any other employee or group of employees of the county, whichever is lower.
Source: NV Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-245.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026